The Logic of a Child 2: The Eyes of Young Men
by IMBSA
Summary: Everything was thought to be resolved the last time they screwed with plant alchemy. Now, Ed and Al just have not learned and their mistakes have doubled the trouble. Slight Royai. Sequel to Logic of a Child.
1. One Bad Apple

The Logic of a Child 2: Through the Eyes of Young Men

Chapter 1: One Bad Apple

by: IMBSA

IMBSA: 'Ellos! Back due to oh-so-popular demand, here is the sequel to "The Logic of a Child"! Yay::cheers. a few of her warm fuzzies cheer too: Well, without further ado, here is the chapter.

Disclaimer: "If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried."

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"Oh, _you_ were an absolute _brat_ as a four year old!" Winry told Ed was they walked towards the courtyard. "So how did you guys do it?" Winry asked.

"Well, we just sort of used this transmutation circle on one lettuce head. Strangely, the lettuce was like this little sprout looking thing when we left it that night before. But it must have reverted back to its original state," Ed replied.

"Oh, and that's when Ms. Riza and I saw it on the counter and used it for our salad. You know, you ought not to do experiments in the kitchen, especially when it involves food," Winry chided.

"Yeah, I know….It was Colonel Mustang's idea….It was really late and we were all tired and just fulfilling an obligation." Ed thought about it for a second, "_You_ shouldn't be grabbing food off of the counter willy-nilly not knowing where it came from or where it's going to," Ed said.

"Yeah, for all you know, the cooks might have placed it there to throw it out," Alphonse stated in defense.

"We were _hungry_, what can I say? Hunger does that to people you know. But I still think it would be great to check out what a piece of fruit does as opposed to a head of lettuce, since it's a vegetable. I mean, would it become a seed?"

"It might even become a flower, depending on the age of the fruit. That would be so neat to check out," Al said.

"Al, you got your journal? Let's see what happens to fruits and see how long it takes for it to revert back. This time, we'll use our own fruits from the market and we won't be dumb enough to leave them in the kitchen."

"Okay Big Brother," Al responded with a notebook in hand. They made their way to Central City's marketplace. The trio looked at strawberries, plums, and grapes. A large bushel of apples caught Winry's eye.

"How about using apples, Ed?" She suggested.

"We have to be sure we get apples that were picked at least four weeks ago. I've calculated that each week equals the age in years, at least for the lettuce. I'm not sure about the apples though," Alphonse stated thoughtfully.

"That's why we're going to do experiments on it, Al," Ed picked up an apple, turned to the seller and said, "I'd like one pound of apples please," with a smile.

"Ed, don't you think three apples are enough? What are we gonna do with all the rest?" Winry asked.

"Oh—we wouldn't want them to go to waste, would we? These are perfectly good apples! Whichever we don't use, we'll eat!"

"Just make sure we remember which ones we transmutate." Winry cautioned.

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"Okay, Al did I get this all correct?" Ed questioned as he finished drawing the transmutation circle in the dirt.

"Yes, Big Brother….It's perfect!" Al replied, checking his notes in the journal.

"Well, here goes nothing!" Ed announced as he placed one solitary apple in the middle of the circle, clapped his hands together, and placed them within the diagram. The whole circle glowed a deep neon green and flashed brightly. They all looked at the apple in excitement. It remained unchanged.

"Hmmm…That's strange," Al responded, "The lettuce had an almost instantaneous change. Maybe you need to try again, but for longer."

"Yeah, I guess so…." Ed took the apple and gave it to Al. After a quick sketch he handed it to Winry.

Al grabbed another apple from the bag and gave it to Ed who repeated his procedure, although made sure he kept his hands on the diagram five seconds longer. After the transmutation process, the apple again was still unchanged. The two brothers looked at the apple Winry was holding. It too still was not altered.

The older brother Elric took the fruit from the circle and again gave it to Al, who then handed it to Winry. The girl was crouched down by the sack of apples, still holding the one that had been transmuted earlier, carefully keeping it separated from the others.

Ed was getting perturbed by the seemingly uncooperative apples.

"C'mon apple! Change already! Gee whiz, what's it gonna take for you to be transmuted into a smaller version? Transmutate, dammit!" He directed his words to the new apple in his hand, as if talking to the fruit would make a marked difference. Again he placed the apple in the center of the circle. He looked at Al who was painstakingly noting the reaction for each case in his journal. Ed clapped his hands together almost too hard and then placed them down forcefully on the diagram. The circle glowed again in its blinding, green colors. When the process was over, Ed stood up and walked to the middle of the circle. He bent down, picked up the apple and studied it. When Ed Elric found no physical change had taken place in the fruit, his frustration got the best of him and he dropped kicked it with as much force as he could muster with his right foot.

As luck would have it, the apple hit Winry in the face. Her hands shot up to her eye, dropping the apples she tried so hard to keep separated from the others. The kicked apple consequently ricocheted off Winry's face and knocked the bag of apples down, scattering them within the circle and mixing them with the ones that experienced the transmutation process.

Still in his drop kicked pose Ed watched the whole event take place in what seemed like slow motion.

"Big Brother!" Al exclaimed in a panic.

"Shit!" he cursed as he ran to check on Winry who was still crouched with her hand covering her face. "Winry are you alright?" Ed asked as he was walking towards her.

His answer came with a blow to his nose by the red skinned fruit Winry chucked at him. Alphonse strode over to the two apple injured beings.

"It was an accident, Winry! I think you broke my nose!" Ed exclaimed through his gloved hands, sitting up holding his damaged face. A trickle of blood was running from his nostrils.

"Good! I hope it's permanent!" Winry replied gingerly rubbing what could have been developing into a black eye, "…see how you'd like an automail nose.…And you better get it from someone else 'cause _I won't help you_!" she screamed in anger.

"Are you two okay?" Alphonse asked, trying to be helpful.

"Yeah…I'll survive, Al….You might wanna ask _her_ how's she's doing. But look out for flying apples!" Another apple came flying and beaned Ed in the ear. "Ouch! See Al what did I tell ya'?" Ed rubbed his ear. He wiped his nose with the side of his sleeve and surveyed the blood that stained it. Alphonse looked at the apples that had spilled over into the transmutation circle.

"I guess this diagram only works for lettuce," Alphonse surmised and wrote more information in his journal. "Do you think we should just throw these apples away? I mean…which ones are the ones we put through the process, and which ones weren't? There really isn't any way to know, is there?"

"Nah, why waste them. You're probably right, Al. I bet this transmutation circle only _works_ on lettuce," Ed said, lightly pushing on his nose.

"I don't know.…I don't think we should chance it, Big Brother," Al replied placing the journal down. He went to check Winry's eye.

"And what, waste some perfectly good apples? I bought _a whole pound_ of them!" Ed stated, sounding quite nasally since he was pinching his nostrils together to stop the small trickle of blood.

"You bought too many…See? I knew you should have only bought a few!" Winry retorted, as Al studied her now swelled-shut right eye.

"Well.…We can probably get rid of the ones closest to you, Winry," Al thought out loud. But he realized that his theory was blown out of the water when he saw that there really weren't any that were closest to her. Most of the fruit had rolled towards the circle. Al walked behind Winry. Surely the one that hit her would be back here somewhere. Al knew for sure that one was transmuted. But he didn't find one and concluded it was probably the one that she chucked back at Ed and hit him in the ear. In which case brings him back to square one. Out of the ten apples, three of them were definitely put through the transmutation process.

"We need to destroy three of them," Al proposed.

The three teens started to look through the apples to come to conclusions about which were the ones that had been tainted by the transmutation process. But after a few minutes it was no use. The fruit all started looking the same.

"Let's blow this one up…." Ed said handing Al an apple.

"Great! Did you find one you had in the circle? What did you use as the basis for selecting the apple, Ed? Did you note the color or some type of markings? Was it size or shape? Perhaps it was the way it felt in the palm of your hand?"

"NO! I CHOSE THIS APPLE BECAUSE IT'S AN APPLE AND I HAVE A ONE IN TEN CHANCE THAT THIS APPLE WAS ONE OF THE ONES I TRIED TO TRANSMUTATE!"

"Oh." Al replied, rather sheepishly. A thought occurred to Al just then.

"Well, you know, I did make a few quick sketches of the first two apples. Maybe we could use those to try to identify them."

Ed said nothing for a few passing moments and once again was brought to a tirade,

"You mean we've been searching this ruddy pile of apples and you had sketches of the first TWO I tried to transmutate!...If I could choke you, Al…"

"Well, the sketches aren't that great, Big Brother…They're really quick!"

"Yeah but we could use them for—"

Ed's sentence trailed off as he grabbed the journal and turned to the pages of the first two transmutations. After a few diligent minutes, they found two apples that closely resembled Al's sketches. It was the third apple that gave them problems.

"So why didn't you draw this third apple, Al….What would possess you to draw the first two, but NOT the last one? I don't get it," Ed mused.

"It's probably because you kicked it away before I had a good look at it, Big Brother," Alphonse stated, slightly frustrated. Ed's shoulders sunk.

"No wonder…Well, let's see…" Ed began looking at the incomplete apple drawing Al made, and pulled a random fruit from the pile, "It's probably this one."

"I think it might be _this_ one," Al proposed, pulling a different one from the group. Winry carefully studied the two apples the brothers had selected.

"I actually think it's the apple Al has," Winry stated finally coming to a conclusion.

"Oh, c'mon now! You're just saying that 'cause you're mad at me for hitting you! _This_ is the apple!" Winry studied the fruit again and compared them to the drawing.

"No really, Ed.…Look how this line rises up just like the side of this ap—"

Ed rudely cut her off.

"Why am I even considering your opinion, Winry?…You can only _see_ out of _one_ eye!"

Winry belted him with another apple she pulled from the stash.

"Hey! Was I the last one to have contact with that apple or what?" Ed demanded.

The other two remained quiet. It was true. Ed did have that final contact with the apple right before he dropkicked it. There was no denying _that_, at least.

"Fine then…If that's that apple you think it is, then fine," Winry replied.

"Fine!" Ed yelled back. He placed his apple with the other two. "Let's get rid of these three babies." With a quick clap the apples were gone.

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When lunchtime came around, Roy was abandoned by First Lieutenant Hawkeye in favor of picking something up for her meal. No doubt it was positively _not_ a salad. However, the Flame Alchemist was not alone in his office. Hughes had taken the liberty of rewarding himself for a job well done and released himself from paperwork duties. Currently, the pair was arguing over a stack of photos that sat on Roy's desk.

"No.…Maes, I can't let you have those pictures. So take one last look at them and remember them forever, because that's it," Roy stated as he pulled on his gloves.

"Oh-Geez, Roy what do you think will happen? Those are some fine Kodak moments!" Maes argued weakly as he handed the small stack to Roy who was looking through them one last time himself.

"Well, OK…Maybe these you could keep." Roy threw the two pictures on the coffee table. They were ones Gracia took of Maes with a sleeping Elysia in his arms just after the make over. Maes smiled thankfully. "But I've got to destroy the rest." With a quick snap of his gloved fingers the Polaroid photos Roy held over a trashcan were engulfed in flames and disappeared in ashes that fell into the can. The concrete evidence was gone.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door.

"Come in!" the Colonel invited.

"Sir, Winry, Ed, and Al are here to see you. Is this a good time, Sir?" A cigarette wielding Havoc asked.

"And I have some paperwork 1st Lt. Hawkeye wanted me to forward to you, and place on her desk, sir," a shy Master Sergeant Cain Fury noted, carrying two stacks: one to put upon the Colonel's desk and another for Hawkeye's.

"Of course Lt. Havoc, show them in. Come on in Fury," Roy announced.

Winry, Ed and Al stepped in. Ed was holding a bag of apples. Winry held a single luggage and Al held her tool box.

"Oh please don't leave yet Lt. Havoc, Sergeant Fury, if they may Colonel, I have something for them," Winry said and smiled. Havoc and Fury waited just inside the door. It was only then that they noticed her swollen eye.

"What happened? Did you have that injury checked?" Roy asked with concern in his voice.

"Quite a shiner there, missy….I hope you clocked the guy a good one," Maes said looking steady at her swollen eye.

"Yeah, she sure did!" Ed absent-mindedly answered, "Right here, right on my nose!" There was a pause. Roy and Maes exchanged glances and stood up menacingly towards Ed.

"You must be confused. You're supposed to fight _for_ a girl not _with_ a girl!" Roy announced.

"Guys, it wasn't on purpose…and she _still_ clocked me good!" Ed explained defensively, looking like a cornered alley cat searching desperately for a way out.

"Yes, it was an _accident_. As much as I would like to see Ed pay dearly, it's true, the whole thing was _not_ deliberate." Winry reassured.

"Good. I thought we'd have to teach Fullmetal some manners….Well, we _still_ need to do that, but that's beside the point..." Maes mused.

Roy continued, "But maybe something might _spark_ an interest in the proper way to treat a lady. I have some _burning_ questions, Ed. Lem'me just _fire_ away at them, shall I?" Roy smirked.

Ed's eyes only grew large with apprehension. Then he narrowed his eyes,

"Been playing with matches again, ponyboy!" Ed retorted.

"Who said I was playing? And that they were matches?" Roy asked. It was just too easy to get under Ed's skin.

"Well, you know _I _have a burning question…." Maes said eyeing the fruit with much interest. "Those are some good looking apples. Where did you get those apples? Did you get them at the market place? Gracia will love those for her pies."

"Would you like one?" Al offered, "We've got plenty."

"Well, I don't wanna grab all of them apples, maybe just one to try," Maes said as he reached in the bag Ed held out for him, took the smallest apple and sliced a part off with one of his knives. He cut a piece off for Roy, Fury and Havoc also, "Here!" he said chucking each piece perfectly to his comrades who caught them easily and enjoyed a small sampling.

"Well, I have to go catch my train back to Risenbool. Bye everyone!" They walked out exchanged pleasantries and headed to the door. As she left, Winry handed Havoc a small carton of cigarettes.

"Thanks! I was almost out!" Havoc said

"_That_ is one sweet apple! Would you like another piece, Colonel? Lieutenant? Master Sergeant?" Maes asked between shoving a piece in his mouth for another bite of the crispy, tasty fruit.

"Don't mind if I do." Havoc responded, reaching for another piece of apple. Soon, the apple was finished between the four of them.

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IMBSA: Hm, I wonder which apple they ate. Well, considering that this is the sequel to "The Logic of a Child" it ain't that hard to guess. I also wanted to answer the reviews from the last chapter of "The Logic of a Child", so that's the note I'll end the chapter on. I don't really know if this'll be up to par, but, well, it's posted now. And if anyone is wondering this takes place about two days or so after the first story.

**Ice Witch101:** And I shall be waiting oh-so-patiently for it. For the good of writers everywhere::toasts with a warm fuzzy:

**Mukies:** We wanted them to be cute. We also wanted a hint of Royai there.

**Presea Combatir:** Wellz, here's the sequel! I don't care what Aoshi did; I still wuv him: B

**The Celestial Tiger: **Thanks for the continued encouragement for all my endeavors. And I _whole-heartedly_ agree with you on the topic of not being able to remember sleeping with Roy! That would suck.

**AngylLayDying:** Yeah, we all love Maes. He's so kewl: B Here's the next one in the Logic of the Child Series (we have ideas for even a third installment, but don't get your hopes up).

**Aquabubble: **Well, you know we couldn't end the story without them being normal.

**Fireness:** I know it sort of left it hanging, but we did that on purpose. It allowed us to write this, which I _know_ you love. Sorry 'bout the ending, but here's a new dose of "The Logic of a Child".

**Cathy:** Well, it's not another chapter per se, it's sorta a new story. You'd call that a sequel, right?

**Tsunamimbw:** To be completely and totally honest, we forgot about him. But the official story is that Armstrong was still in bed, sleeping while his alarm clock was poised to go off, when chapter 8 occurred. I'm going to ask one of my friends to draw a picture of Teddy-sama, and I'll try to convince her. I doubt it'll anything anyone wants to see, but whatever.

**Everto Angelus:** :huggles warm fuzzy: No problem::tilts head: Why would I write a slash pairing?

**Apparition7: **That's just what all of us have to do, right? _I_ would have thought the same thing, though unlike her, I'd be enjoying it. (Except for, you know, the not being able to remember all of it.) Thanks!

**Tsunade-chan:** :hisses more and hugs plushie closer: NEVER::blinks: Well, tack on another one for Humor!

**Kyia Star:** Well, fine, ok, you don't hafta make a choice, jeez. :rolls eyes: Here's your sequel! The first chapter, anyway.

**Maylin-chan:** Uh….OK, I thought about. You twisted my arm. Here it is. Hope you like it.

**Runa:** Thank you! As a matter of fact, I believe R.W. Grimm gave me the same site a little bit before this chapter was published. The URL didn't work with yours, but you know how sensitive fanficdotnet is about these things.

**Winry the Alchemist: **They were very good quotes, some of my favorites, actually. Winry's reaction would probably be near the way _I_'d react if in that situation. OK, OK, I get the message, here's your sequel.

**C.A.M.E.O.1 and Only:** well, you don't seem to be getting my e-mails, so I'll just respond here. Sounds good. Are the girls going to retain their original minds? Like, are they just physically shrunk? Do you have an idea for the "accident" that happens? What about the Mountain Dew?...That was random...Anyway, I know I ask a lot of questions, but hey, consider it research. Count me in! And please, please, please, please, please e-mail me. My address is on my profile, so do it soon!

**invisible johnny:** We tried to make a Royai ending, with those mediocre results. If it were just me and if the story weren't what it is, they'd be almost all over each other. Wow, I do believe this is an accomplishment for you and I will be sending you champagne as son as someone can smuggle some to me. Well, I updated Second Chances, why don't you go find it again?

**Schitz:** Am I glad you gave this a chance! You knew Hughes had no dignity, we all knew it! When it comes to his daughter, anyway. He got shot for a little more than just that anyway, remember? If you want, by all means draw them. Here's the sequel, but I don't know I there'll be necessarily any Roy-torture in this one.

**Alias Adrianna: **I think Armstrong and Hughes make it all funnier just by being there. That mental picture rather stuck in my head too. You never told me, did you like your fuzzy? Or would you like a different color?

**AoKo: **We wanted Maes to be, as always, the comic relief. And Riza, that's just the way we envisioned her as a child.

To **Mutsu Okato**, **Pichu172B**, **Kirusuchinu-sama**, **Silent wolf**, **My Dream's Shadow**, **Via**, **Camille**, **Flava Sava**, **Lunatic Pandora1**, and **crazyanimefreak15**, as well as all the other readers: From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your support and reviews! I appreciate all that you have done and the time you take to review. Thanks so much!


	2. Paybacks

Logic of a Child 2: The Eyes of Young Men

Chapter 2: Paybacks

IMBSA: Well, it seems that this story is getting very positive reviews! I'm happy! Yay::dances like a monkey. some of the fuzzies follow her example; others just hang onto her for dear life:

Disclaimer: "I wasn't sleeping; I was testing the keyboard for drool-resistance."

IMBSA: Here's the next chapter!

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Riza had returned after her lunch, fully expecting her _taisa_ to be slacking off and in general being his usual self. The 1st Lieutenant was not prepared for what awaited her within the office. She opened the Colonel's door—and felt her jaw drop.

It wasn't every day she entered the room to be greeted by flying paper planes—airplanes that were fashioned from the stacks of paperwork placed on her and the Colonel's desks. More paper littered the floor. The actual tile and rug were barely visible with all the sheets strewn around the room. Her eyes widened in shock and her fists found their way to her skirted hips (she was wearing her dress uniform since her regular one was in the cleaners).

"Oh, no! This can_not_ be happening!" She felt she needed to pinch herself to be sure what she saw was reality. She put her hands to her face and quickly exited, but _quietly_ closed the door. There were only two people she knew of that would be able to tell her what exactly had transpired. And where she found one, she would find the other.

She hurriedly walked down the corridor. Catching a glimpse of a red cloak-like jacket and a tall metallic helmeted head, Riza quickly ran to the Elric brothers, who were on their way to assist Winry to the train station.

"Major Elric!" She shouted. The young major's shoulders sunk and then he turned around, irritatedly at first, but then he snapped to a salute.

"1st Lieutenant Hawkeye!" Ed greeted, startled by her formal manner of speech.

"Come with me please. You too, Alphonse." Her manner was stately and urgent, as if ready to break some HQ shattering news. They followed her lead.

"Did Mustang want to see me? Is there some problem, ma'am?" Ed interrogated, almost having to catch his breath to keep a steady pace with the Lieutenant.

"I'm in need of an explanation," she said, still walking briskly towards the office and carrying the air of total professionalism.

"Explanation? What do I need to explain, Lieutenant?" Ed asked getting the feeling something was not right. A haunting thought occurred to him for a moment, but he dared not disclose any part of his speculation.

"Were you conducting some type of experiment earlier, Major?" Hawkeye asked, rather business-like. He imagined this is how most of the soldiers felt working under her direct supervision. Al had the sudden urge to run the other way.

"Well…I sort of—actually Al and I—," Ed found himself floundering for something to say.

"There were reports of bright, green flashes of light some people saw nearby. Have you _any_ idea what might have _caused_ those flashes?" Riza pressed on. Although she had a strong gut feeling about the cause, she thought she would have Ed give his explanation.

"Bright green flashes? No, I don't know anything about the bright green flashes that occurred just north of the courtyard," Ed wanted to desperately retract the words that just left his mouth. Riza's professionalism quickly jumped out the window and was nowhere to be seen. Her fingers flew up and pinched his ear, pulling him by said appendage into the Colonel's office and quietly closing the door, after Alphonse. The younger Elric brother stood idly by, saying nothing, feeling lucky he had no fleshy part to be grasped by the highly upset 1st Lt. Hawkeye.

"Could you please explain _this_?" she asked, almost swinging him into a desk by his ear. His yellow eyes grew wide with anxiety at the incredible sight before him.

"Oh—Is that—that _Mustang_?" He asked in shock. Hawkeye nodded with a sigh, arms folded in front of her. Alphonse held his metal head in apprehension.

"Yes, Big Brother…It sure looks like him," Alphonse stated woefully.

"COOL! I'm _taller_ than him!" Ed pointed and smirked gleefully and began to laugh and cheer pumping his fist to his side. He looked at Al, who commenced facing down. Riza was not happy. Her brown eyes were heated with anger as she grabbed one his ears yet again. His comment was also punished by a blow to the head from a folder lying on a nearby filing cabinet.

"Major Edward Elric, you have got some explaining to do! I _highly_ suggest you do it NOW!" Lt. Hawkeye lost the sweetness she reserved for the two of them. But somehow he had no time to explain.

"OOOh! Look! I wanna play!" One child cried out leading the way for two others to join him. Then they glanced at Alphonse. Their attention was solely on the armored shape that stood before them. Al's red glowing eyes didn't even seem to faze them.

Three of the four male youngsters saw the large metal figure standing by the door and became intrigued by it. They immediately jumped to Alphonse and began over-running him, climbing on his limbs like a set of monkey bars in a playground. The curious threesome began lifting up his cloth looking inside, to Alphonse's panic-stricken state. He didn't want to say anything, but he was feeling quite invaded as he stood in even more shock, not knowing what to do.

"Wow! Listen!...Hello--o! Hello--o! My name's is Roy…Rrroooyyyy!" The slim boy with dark spiky hair and even darker eyes kept calling into Al's suit, fascinated by the echo that resulted in his voice. Another boy, a blond one, quickly pulled his thumb out of his mouth to inspect the inside of the suit with him. A fourth boy, shorter and chubby in stature, sporting glasses finally joined the others in his sleepy state, looking in awe at Al. A slender ebony haired boy, also wearing glasses (though they had square-rimmed) had quickly climbed Al's back and began opening up the top of his helmet, waving at the other children below, who were experimenting with the echo. "It's empty inside guys! Let's get in!" the same boy with the echoing voice suggested. All at once every youngster in the room had scrambled their way into Al's suit, shutting the cloth like a curtain. "Let's make this our club house!" He stated.

"YEAH!" they all yelled.

Alphonse, feeling very uncomfortable having tenants in his suit, faced the Lieutenant and his brother, all three still at a loss for what to do. They couldn't help but listen to the conversation that took place echoing inside Alphonse's metal suit.

"I'll be the leader."

"No Maes! It was _my_ idea!"

"So what Roy, you ALWAYS have to be the leader!"

"Yeah, that's right!_ I_ always have to be the leader!"

"Na-uh!"

"Ya-huh!"

"Na-uh!"

"Okay…let's vote. You, who do _you_ want to be your leader, me or Maes?" There was no audible answer. "Get your thumb out of your mouth!... Who do you want to be your leader, me or four eyes?"

"Hey! I don't got four eyes!"

"Yes, you do! A leader can't be all blind and stuff, so I think I should be the leader!"

"He didn't say anything yet, Roy…and stop teasing me. I'm not blind!"

"Then how come you said you can't see anything without your glasses, huh?"

There was a pause.

"See? I'm the leader…"

"Okay, Roy…You can be the leader, because _I'm_ the Fuhrer!"

"Club houses don't have Fuhrers, Maes that's just stupid!"

"So…that means I rule over ALL the clubhouses in Amestris!... Including yours!"

"It's scary in here," said a voice that had not made itself known yet.

"Don't be scared…It's fun!" A little hand opened up the cloth a bit more to permit more light inside. "Is that better? Hey, you…Get your thumb out of your mouth, is that better?"

"Yeah…"

"Okay…so since I'm the leader we have to make rules…"

"But I have to see the rules first."

"No, you don't!"

"Yes, I do 'cause I'm the Fuhrer, remember?"

"So…"

"Don't push me, Roy"

"I can push you in my clubhouse if I want!"

"Stop shoving me!"

"Go ahead Fuhrer Maes, whatchu gonna do about it, huh?"

"This!" Maes had obviously shoved the boy harder than ever before, if one noticed that Alphonse was swaying from side to side due to the force with which the boys heaved at each other. It was more than enough, however, to send Alphonse—with the children inside—crashing to the ground.

A few moments passed as the stunned boys tried to salvage their senses. A knock suddenly sounded at the door. "Shit! Edward, help the boys out." Riza muttered as she went to answer it. Opening the door to a crack, she cautiously stared out at their visitor. It was Breda. "Yes?"

Breda saluted. "I heard a crash and came to investigate, ma'am." He told her. "What're you two doing in there...ma'am?" He asked, trying to scan the room.

"Uh—er—"

"Have you seen Havoc? I need to give him some paperwork."

"Oh, um, he's um….You know, I don't know. That's a good question."

Breda raised his eyebrows. "Are you sure, ma'am?"

"Yes."

"Hm." Breda didn't look too convinced.

"Hey, who is that guy?" A voice asked from below their line of vision. They looked down and saw the mini-Roy mimicking Riza's position at the door. Breda's eyes widened significantly.

"Don't tell me that's…the _Colonel_?"

Riza sighed and opened the door to allow the 2nd Lieutenant in while pulling Roy back by his collar. Breda's eyes almost popped out of his face when he saw the two other boys standing almost to attention by the fallen Alphonse.

"No." Breda said. "Not _again_!" As far as he was concerned, two young girls had wreaked hell with the office. What were three _boys_ going to do? He couldn't _begin_ to imagine. "So, there's three of them this time, ma'am?" He began helping Hawkeye pick up the reports that were scattered all over the floor.

"Three?" Riza repeated puzzledly. She looked around. "There's a fourth one around here somewhere…." She was still automatically gathering what she could of the completed papers.

"Yes, ma'am. He's in my thigh!" Alphonse answered. They all looked at him. He had pulled his chest piece off and, lo and behold, stuck in his thigh, fast asleep, was Fury. Ed looked surprised. He hadn't noticed the boy, most likely because he was so quiet. Er, well, unconscious.

"Major, you were supposed to get them _all_ out!" Riza hissed as she came over, placing some of the papers into a separate pile on her desk as she did so.

"It's not my fault he's so damn silent!" Ed answered as he braced his foot against the armor and tried to pull Fury out. There was no help for it. The boy would not budge, no matter how much Ed gently tugged on him or even pulled insistently at him. Fury would not wake up, nor did he slip free of Alphonse.

The other boys were chasing each other in an obvious continuation of their heated discussion that started in the armor. That was except for little Jean who was fine just watching the chase scene between Roy and Maes and finding solace in the company of his thumb.

"Maes is a four-eyed Fuhrer! The first four eyed Fuhrer Amestris has _ever _seen!" Roy taunted announcing this like a circus ring master and laughing wildly. "Four-eyed Fuhrer! Four-eyed Fuhrer!" Roy teased with Maes running closely behind him.

"You better take that back, Roy Mustang!" He jumped and tackled Roy, who was taken by quite surprise at Maes' ability to catch him so quickly. Hawkeye was beside herself as she witnessed the boys' rough and tumble melee.

"Stop it!... Maes Hughes, get off of the Col-off of Roy, this instant!" She commanded. Maes victoriously smirked at Roy whose tousled hair seemed to stand more on end than before as he sat himself up, glaring at Maes. Riza suddenly made an important realization.

Both of them were armed with _very _dangerous weaponry.

"Maes, come here please," the boy shyly approached her, breathing heavily from the scuffle, and stood still while she removed the silver weaponry he carried. "Sir…I mean-Roy," she could barely say his first name, she noticed. Riza motioned with her fingers beckoning him. With Roy's approach, Maes instinctively moved out of the way, running towards the large metal figure that still housed a sleeping Fury.

Roy also stood still while she removed his holster. He was looking up at her with those dark button-like eyes and said, "You're pretty. What's your name?"

"I'm Miss Riza." He mouthed her name as if to commit it to memory and nodded.

"Do you know who I am?" he asked.

"Yes, you're Roy, right?" Again he nodded and he ran off to join Maes. Riza felt herself blush slightly, before mentally berating herself. _Yes, that _was_ Colonel Roy Mustang telling me that I was pretty….But a six year old Roy Mustang, still innocent and unassuming. _Definitely NOT the one she was used to reminding about completing his paperwork, nor the one with the sordid reputation with the ladies. She continued the disarming of the boys with Jean Havoc still sucking his thumb and blinking wide eyed at Alphonse as he sat on the floor.

"C'mon, get outta there!" Ed was pulling at the still slumbering Cain Fury. Cain's chubby form was caught inside Al's thigh. Ed dropped to his knees heaving in deep breaths, exhausted from all the pulling.

"Let me try something, Big Brother," Alphonse suggested and began banging his metal foot on the floor, as if to loosen up the sleeping child. Ed held his ears closed with his palms, as did the other three little boys.

The boys stared wide eyed, awestruck at the moving, speaking metal armor.

"Hey! Our clubhouse _talks_!" Roy shouted excitedly.

"And it _moves_!" Maes remarked imitating the stepping motions of Al.

"It's a robot," Jean said, thoughtfully nodding, removing his thumb momentarily to speak.

"Al, are you crazy? You're gonna give poor Fury a concussion and knock him out.…If you haven't already….Sure is hard to tell!" Ed responded still trying to determine whether or not Al's method helped. Riza hurried over after hearing the commotion,

"We don't need to be making all this noise, gentlemen…Oh-!" Riza reminded cautiously, trying to determine whether to toss away the papers on the floor or set them aside. Ed continued to try to extract Fury from Al's hollow thigh.

"Something wrong Lieutenant?" Ed asked seeing Riza stand there obviously uncomfortable with the breechcloth. "Eh-don't worry. There's literally nothing to see!"

"Big brother, that's mean," a very hurt Alphonse Elric reproached.

"Sorry, Al…I didn't intend for it to sound that way," he apologized.

"Lemme' try…" Breda approached. He placed a stack he had been gathering in the file cabinet to give Ed a hand. This time, instead of just pulling on Fury's shoulders, the Lieutenant worked each arm free individually and was able to lift Fury out of Al's thigh. Fury was slumbering peacefully with his head resting on Breda's shoulder, "Atta' boy…." Breda said aloud and walked to the couch and carefully placed Fury on it. He removed the boy's glasses and set them on the coffee table. The three boys were now sitting inside Al's chest plate pretending it was a ship, rocking it back and forth.

"Get the sails up, sailors!" Roy commanded wearing a triangular hat he had folded from one of the sheets on the floor. He was pointing at an imaginary mast.

"Aye-aye, Capt'n!" Maes saluted and pretended to be pulling on the ropes to lift the sail. Havoc had one thumb in his mouth and was working an invisible oar with the other hand.

Maes, with a paper tube held up to his glasses, also fashioned from one of the sheets, was looking through it pensively. "Land Ho, Captain Roy!" He announced, pointing at the couch where Fury rested. "Captain! The land seems to have resting natives!"

"Faster sailor…!" Roy instructed Havoc who began rowing as quickly as he could with one hand. He was rowing so fast, it looked like he could take off any minute.

The boys decided to disembark their ship on one side of the couch at the same time. The force with which they jumped on the island/couch consequently sent Fury flying up and then down towards the floor by the coffee table.

"Uh-oh!" Their captain gasped, waiting with bated breath for a huge cry of pain, as they watched the smallest of their group land on the floor.

Fury's closed eyes suddenly squashed together tightly. He began a small, yet audible wail for about five seconds. Then, strangely, it was over. Fury's eyes ceased their tightness and tears and he continued to sleep as though he had not been disturbed.

Riza, seeing that the boys were now engaged in a small crowd around Fury, decided to investigate while Ed replaced Al's chest plate and Breda continued to read and peruse though the reports, to also determine which ones could be salvaged.

"What happened?" Riza asked when she had come up to the group, shifting her attention between the boys and determining which reports to redo.

"Fury fell off the cou—" Jean's voice was quickly cut off. When Riza raised her eyes, she witnessed Roy shove Jean's thumb into his mouth. She placed the papers down and this time chose to give the boys her full attention.

"What happened, Roy?" Riza asked, walking slowly up to him and crouching before him, "Could you tell me what happened, please?" she asked. Roy scratched his neck for a second and then squeezed his chin; she could tell he was thinking of the safest way he could to explain without getting his troupe into trouble, yet not lying in the process.

"We were playing and then he hit the floor," Roy explained, his dark eyes looking furtively from side to side. Riza picked up a still sleeping Cain who was now drooling on the rug. She placed him on the couch again. The resilient child opened his eyes, smiled when he saw her, and then went back to sleep. He had no bumps or bruises from the fall.

"Maes, how did he fall from the couch?" Riza continued her line of questioning with another subject.

"Uhm….Is he gonna be okay?" Maes asked, hazel eyes staring up at her through square rims, glowing with concern.

"Yes, he'll be fine, Maes," Riza reassured him.

"Oh--good …Well, we were playing and then he fell," Maes repeated the same explanation as Roy gave her.

"_How_ did Cain _fall_, Maes?" Riza repeated slowly to him.

Maes scratched his dark hair and bit his lip. His hazel eyes suddenly shifted to Roy and then back at Riza. He then raised his shoulders to his ears and let them down in a dubious shrug. _A cover up_. Riza thought to herself. She stood up and huffed a heavy sigh.

"Okay then…I want you boys to help pick up all the paper on the floor, you got it?"

"But we just got our ship to some land!" Roy tried to explain.

"Well, your boat has to go back to Al…That belongs to him. And these papers belong on this desk and on _that_ one. Start now," she said rather firmly.

Slowly the six year olds began shuffling the papers up from the floor. As they did, Riza noticed that Roy was saying something under his breath, slightly rebellious look on his face.

"Excuse me, did you say something to me, young man?" Riza asked pointedly.

"No…" He replied sullenly. But she kept hearing some whispering out from Roy's direction. She watched and this time she caught him mumbling again. Her brown eyes searched his face, but this young boy seared his eyes back at her.

"What was that?" Riza asked. There was no denying it now. Roy did say _something_ and she was sure it was nothing flattering.

"I said you're not my mom!" Roy defiantly answered, little fist balled up.

Breda decided to intervene. "You're right; she's not your mom and I'm not your dad. That means your _real_ mommy and daddy can't hear you if you scream, can they?" Breda replied scathingly with the most menacing face he could muster.

Little Roy's eyes grew large with this realization and then he commenced picking up the papers without a word. Little Jean approached Riza with a small stack he had been gathering up. He pulled at her skirt and handed them to her.

"Thanks Jean," she said smiling and then noticed all the papers he handled had been softened in the right margin by some unidentified wetness. _Ew_….She thought. _Maybe that's why I didn't assign them to this immediately_…. She sighed, watching as Maes rolled a piece of paper up and rap Roy over the head with it (Breda was the one who scolded him this time). _This _has_ to be over_ soon She knew that she would go insane if it wasn't.

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IMBSA: Poor Fury. Oh well! R&R!

**R.W. Grimm: **Yuppers, we did. Hey, do you know how often that FMA manga site you gave me updates? I finished all the manga there and am patiently waiting for the new chapter. I know I depends on the frequency of the releases in Japan, but about how long is that?

**Momo Shinobi:** Er…yeah, that's it.

**crazyanimefreak15:** Ed's just too funny in his normal state to take away that source of humor. Besides, we pretty much know how he would act as a child because 1) he's still a youth and 2) his childhood is a big part of the series anyway. You're welcome!

**Winry the Alchemist:** Yes, she is, sorry. No, as you can see he doesn't try to smoke. He just has what's called an "oral fixation". (Jeez, that sounded so wrong.) The transmutation part was funny. I liked it too.

**DarkHeartKeyBlade:** :huggles Chibi Roy. he wrinkles his nose and tries to pull away: And he's mine, all mine! Allrighty then, _ma_'_am_. Put up the new chapter soon!

**IceWitch101:** It would be just Ed's luck, ya know? Did you check my profile? That's the correct e-mail address, so I don't see why I shouldn't be getting it. Oh well. I don't _need_ a cookie, really. I like word cookies just the same.

**C.A.M.E.O.1 and Only: **Sounds good. Now are you going to start it or me?

**ooOAnimeChildOoo: **Yay! Glad you thought so!

**Tsunamimbw:** You know that's gonna come up somewhere. Chibi goodness always seems to revitalize me!

**The Celestial Tiger:** They really are, aren't they? And that's the whole part of the story.

**not royai:** Not to seem bitchy or anything, but this is _slight_ royai. Hints of it abound if you look closely. If you've read the first story in the "Logic of a Child" series, you'll see the allusions that made me put this under royai. And when we say royai, we don't mean that it's blatant.

**Alias Adrianna:** I'm glad you like your fuzzy. :glances furtively at Roommate: Wow. :takes champagne bottle: I just like toasting using warm fuzzies, but champagne is just as good. :furtively looks around. quickly uncorks bottle and begins chugging:

**Pichu172B:** :twitches slightly: And here I was saying that Fury would be too much cuteness to handle. Now he's one of _four_ chibis. What is the world coming to?

**Tsunade-chan:** Gitcher own! He's _my_ plushie. :huggles Maes plushie _and_ chibi Maes: Mwahahahaha. Well, be sure, Riza will not be alone in this endeavor.

**The Feral Alchemist:** You e-mailed me. So ha.

To **I'm not Weird, I'm Gifted**, **Sangi**, **SoulOmenspride**, **xeledhwenx**, **Maylin-chan**, **Aquabubble**, **…….**, **WaitingWishing**, **The Stone Wolf Alchemist**, **Apparition7**, **Safferon**, **Camille**, **TheBlondeWriter**, thanks for your reviews and continued readership.


	3. Hidden Talents

Logic of a Child 2: The Eyes of Young Men

Chapter 3: Hidden Talents

by: IMBSA

IMBSA: Sorry for the delay, but with school picking up again, I'm going to be a _little_ swamped with work, so I may not update this for awhile. Just as a warning. And considering that I had to go help my mom fix her classroom, we didn't have much time to write. We're sure you can forgive us.

Disclaimer: "You're never too old to learn something stupid."

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The Colonel's office finally had some semblance of order. The papers were off the ground. Riza wasn't sure what would be the most efficient way to determine which reports were salvageable and which ones should be totally redone. Breda helped, but they were definitely going to need more manpower to wade through the paper chase as well as keep the boys occupied. Ed was using the ruined sheets in the wastebaskets to create playthings for the young fellows. He started with a pathetic looking origami crane. But when Maes showed him up by folding an origami crane that actually looked decent and could flap its wings, the boys lost interest in Ed. He thought he'd try something later. Both he and Al began discussing the findings and knew they needed to do more with the remaining apples. The little five year olds began scrambling for something to do, at which point Al decided to intervene lest they cause even more havoc (no pun intended) than they had before.

"How about drawing something, guys?" Alphonse suggested. The four boys were elated. They happily grabbed some paper and began their works of art.

Maes drew a picture of a throwing knife—three different angles of it to be exact. Roy was copying something he found in his pocket. Jean drew a large round lollipop and Fury made some indiscriminate lines before laying his head down and drooling on the paper.

"Look at my knife! It's so good! Such a sharp knife. Looks like you could really cut someone with it!" Maes proclaimed proudly, holding it up for all to see. He stopped suddenly at Roy's work, "What's that you're drawing, Roy?" Maes asked as Roy was carefully copying the red embroidered lines on a pair of white gloves he found in his pocket. Chibi Mustang stuck his tongue out in intense concentration trying in earnest to make an exact replica of the diagrams on the gloves.

"It's a design…on these things," Roy pointed out. Maes searched his pockets. He found no gloves. He was disappointed.

"Hey, can I borrow those too?" Maes asked, lying on his tummy beside Roy who was analyzing the lines on his design. Roy looked at Maes with narrowed eyes as Maes waited for Roy to answer. Maes pushed his glasses up on his nose, as Roy continue to contemplate his decision.

"Okay Maes…But don't lose them," Maes happily nodded and also tried to copy the design.

Feeling very satisfied with his masterpiece, Roy took the paper and carefully folded it and placed it in his pocket. Roy started working on another project. He scanned the room trying to find something worthy of drawing. A flash of yellow hair caught his eye. He looked at Ms. Riza for a second and decided to draw her. He began his drawing carefully, trying to capture her pretty face and blonde hair the best he could. Riza, although barraged with paperwork, caught little Roy staring at her and then at his paper. She waited until he was again looking at her and smiled. Roy smiled back and continued his work.

Jean decided to make a drawing of a flower for Ms. Riza. One hand possessed a crayon, the other was shoved in his mouth, thumb hidden from view. As best as his five year old fingers could, he drew a picture of a tulip. Breda looked up from his paperwork, rubbing his eyes. He took a glance at the boys who were quietly drawing. He was tickled by the pictures: A huge lollipop, a knife, there was even one of Alphonse. Breda smiled at the well behaved young men. Until he saw the one Maes worked on. Apparently Maes abandoned the design on the gloves and gave them back to Roy. He, like Roy, began working on portraits. His newest work had a pudgy man in a blue uniform and red hair. The soldier's build was so much like Breda's. But there was a huge wart sticking out of his nose. The eyes were those of a snake bulging wildly from the face. Roy looked over from his picture of Ms. Riza and saw Maes's artwork. Roy took the paper and added two huge fangs jutting from the large mouth adorned with a forked tongue. He drew two curved horns protruded from his forehead. Fire was spitting out of his mouth.

By now, Havoc also was in on the fun. He added a pitchfork in one hand and a cigar in the other. The community drawing was passed back and forth. Maes started laughing as he slid the picture back to Jean and Roy who began giggling too, trying to contain their laughter. They had not realized Breda had silently approached them.

"Whatchu got there, Maes?" Breda asked. Maes' spectacled eyes grew large with panic as he slid the incriminating work of art under one he had drawn of Alphonse.

"It's a drawing of…the robot…"Maes said quickly pointing at Al.

"C'mere…Lemme' see…"Breda instructed, crouching down. Maes approached him with a picture of Alphonse. As Breda scanned the floor by Roy, that insulting drawing, he was sure an effigy of himself, was no where to be found.

"Where is it, Maes? Hand it over!" Breda was starting to lose some patience, as he began lifting up the paper on the ground between the boys.

"Which picture are you talking about?" Maes asked.

"You _know_ which one….Now hand it over!" Maes just stood there scratching his chin and then both hands went up to scratch the back of his head. Breda saw out of the corner of his eye, Roy watching him with quick nonchalant glances, still working on his picture of Ms. Riza. Those quick glances long enough to gather information he needed to assess the situation were so much like the Colonel. Fury rolled from his stomach to his back, exposing a part of the incriminating drawing that was hidden under a sheet he slept upon. Breda quickly walked over and picked it up before Roy or Jean noticed.

"_This_ is what I'm talking about, boys! Who drew this?" Breda scathingly asked. Ed was chuckling at the picture that was unmistakably Breda, as Al tried hard to keep his brother from laughing.

"Lieutenant, you never looked so good!" Ed called out. Breda shot him a killing look.

"Big Brother!" Al hissed, trying to hush Ed.

None of the boys would lay claim to it. Roy looked at Maes and finally stood up, "I drew it…It was me…" Roy stated. Maes' face fell at this admission. Jean looked at his other thumb and put it in his mouth slowly witnessing the drama.

"_You_ drew this?" Breda asked, not believing his ears. "But this doesn't look like your work…I can tell that much." The group was quiet. Maes broke the silence,

"_I_ was the one who did it….I drew it," Maes said looking down morosely.

"We _all _did it," Little Jean said, pulling out his thumb to say his piece and nodding, only to have it find its way back to his mouth.

"So ALL of you drew this picture?" Breda asked. They all nodded slowly.

"We'll make a nicer one of you?" Maes interjected with a disarming smile, as if to soften the blow of punishment they knew they were to receive from the scary Breda.

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Alphonse picked up the drawings, and placed them on the coffee table on the way out. He and Ed had decided that it would be better if they conducted more apple experiments to determine the duration of the boys' condition, or even come up with a transmutation to reverse the regression. Knowing that they would never get any work done while in the presence of the boys, they had also chosen to leave, in order to have some peace and quiet.

Breda had made some decisions of his own: to disband the six-year-olds and separated them. The boys had a time out and stood spread out in one wall of the room where Breda could easily keep his eye on all of them. The children were standing up against the wall like a criminal line up. One thing an active boy cannot tolerate is to stay still without anything to do, a fact Breda knew from first hand experience. Every time he heard a sigh, Breda's eyes shot up in the direction of the boys, just to be sure they weren't conspiring again. Roy raised his hand. Breda had to do a double take.

"Mr. Mustang, why are you raising your hand?" Breda asked incredulously.

"How long do we have to stand here again?" Roy asked, ignoring Breda's inquiry.

"Fifteen minutes. Put your hand down." Roy complied. This time, Maes raised his hand waving it around so Breda couldn't miss it, no matter how hard he tried to ignore it. "Mr. Hughes, put your hand down."

"How long is fifteen minutes?" Maes asked, following Roy's lead. Breda stopped and sighed. _They're supposed to stand there quietly_. Breda thought, choosing not to answer the boy's question. He tried ignoring Maes' hand that was this time waving so wildly he seemed to lose his balance and stepped on Roy's toe.

"Ouch!" Roy cried out, loudly, "Gosh, Maes you're so clumsy!"

"Sorry. It was an accident!" Maes said still holding up his arm with support from his other hand and the top of his head, Maes was even tip-toeing.

"You don't have to tip-toe, fat guy can see you just fine!" Roy told still rubbing his foot.

"No he can't…That's why he hasn't called me!" Maes argued still waving his hand from side to side.

"He hasn't called you 'cause he doesn't wanna talk to you," Roy debated.

"Yes he does…He's just busy…"

"What are you a ballerina? Quit tip toeing, you're gonna step on my toe again!"

"No I'm not!"

"BOYS!" Breda finally called out.

"How long is fifteen minutes?" Maes repeated once he looked their way.

Breda rolled his eyes, rubbing his face as if to wipe away the urge to strangle.

"The long hand will be on the three," Jean called out suddenly.

"You can tell time?" Roy asked in amazement.

"No….." Jean said.

"I'll let you know when your time is up…Now stop talking or you're standing there for fifteen minutes longer!" Breda warned.

Two more minutes passed. Whistling commenced from the line up. Breda looked up from his work. But as soon as he did so, the whistling stopped. He looked down at his papers again. Like clockwork, the whistling started up. Breda's eyes raised and the whistling stopped. He looked at each of them. He definitely ruled out Jean who perpetually had a thumb in his mouth. He knew it was either Roy or Maes. Breda looked at his papers, but immediately shot his eyes upward, he caught both Roy and Maes with puckered lips ready to whistle a tune. He kept a steady eye on them. Roy started to whistle. Now he was sure which one was the perpetrator.

"Mr. Mustang, you now have fifteen MORE minutes tacked on," Breda announced.

"What? I wasn't talking. You said if I talked I'd get fifteen more minutes. I wasn't talking….I was whistling."

"Then quit your whistling and your whining or you'll be standing there ALL day and all night." Roy huffed a heavy sigh. They stood quietly. Someone started to whistle again. Roy and Maes looked at each other then looked at Breda. Jean shrugged his shoulders. The whistle was coming from little Cain Fury who looked wide eyed and bushy tailed. He started laughing at the astonished faces that surrounded him.

"Uh-oh!" Roy said sensing something wrong. Cain Fury giggled and started whistling again. Then stopped. Stared. Blinked his eyes. Giggled, as if he couldn't believe the noise that came from his little lips.

"I can whistle…Look…" he demonstrated his newly acquired skill. He soon dissolved into quiet giggles. Breda shot Fury a look of warning. Cain stopped, naturally, but not without another twittering whistle. Finally Fury stopped when Roy glared at him.

A few more minutes passed. Cain suddenly had this urge to cough. As if it were contagious, Maes coughed as well but in a deeper cough, as if he was trying to disguise it as an old man's. Jean followed too, only he made his cough sound like a baby's. Roy coughed, making his sound very dainty and lady like. The boys began to laugh.

"Look, boys, you—" Breda was interrupted by a knock on the door. Riza and Breda both looked at the panel of wood and then back at each other. As if some silent agreement had taken place, Riza stood and walked to the closed entrance even as a knock—a little more subdued this time—sounded once again. Carefully opening the door, Riza stuck her head out of the room to find a nervous looking Shezcka—not that she didn't look it normally—standing outside the door.

"Um, do you know where Lieutenant Colonel Hughes is?" She asked, pushing her glasses up her nose. "He said he would visit Colonel Mustang for lunch, but he hasn't come back. Is there a problem?"

Riza was silent, staring at the woman while the wheels turned in her head. Suddenly, Riza hit upon an idea. "You know, I believe we need your assistance in here."

Schezcka's expression—if possible—got even more apprehensive. "W-why?"

"You'll see." Was Riza's cryptic reply. Before the librarian knew it, Riza's hand was around her wrist and pulling her into the room.

Schezcka's spectacled eyes grew round and wide with shock as she stared at the line up of little soldiers standing against a wall before her. Lt. Colonel Maes Hughes scratched his neck. Colonel Roy Mustang stood with his hands in his pockets, suspiciously eyeing the new visitor. Master Sergeant Cain Fury was holding his left wrist in front of him resting his elbows on his hips, looking up at the ceiling as though transfixed. 2nd Lieutenant Jean Havoc had his thumb in his mouth watching Schezcka take them in.

"We need a little help in taking care of them. Do you think I can count on your services for that?" Riza asked.

"Lt. Colonel HUGHES?" was all his assistant could say in her shocked and astonished state.

"I'll take that as a yes. If you would just try to keep the boys entertained," Riza instructed. "Breda and I have a major project of sorting these reports out and I don't think we'll get done with more reports flowing back on my desk. So if you wouldn't mind…."

Schezcka nodded obediently, but with a tinge of reluctance.

Breda's rusty-haired head rose up from the piles of papers and staplers and said, somewhat sinisterly, "They all have about five more minutes...Then they're ALL yours!"

Schezcka gulped nervously as she humbly trudged to the front of the line up looking at her wristwatch. The four boys watched her intently, waiting on any movement from her lips for a sign. Finally, the moment came.

"O—kay," was all she had to say and the boys were in motion once again. Roy put on a pair of white gloves in his pockets and wanted to show the others.

"Look what I got!" Roy boasted, fingers twirling wildly in the faces of his friends. None of them had the same cloth accessories that Roy did. They looked in awe at Roy who continued to twist his fingers in many mysterious ways. "Hey! Let's play circus!" Roy announced, "I'll be the ringmaster!"

"I'll be the famous knife thrower guy!" Maes excitedly commented.

"I'm the whistling clown!" Fury announced with unbound enthusiasm and a whistle.

"I'll be the audience," Jean stated, sitting down and contentedly sucked his thumb.

Schezcka quickly fluttered over, having been unable to hear the previous conversation. "Well, what are you guys doing again?"

Jean took his thumb out. "Circus." He replied, replacing the digit in his mouth afterwards.

"Do you wanna play, lady?" Roy asked, squinting up at Schezcka.

"Yeah, she can be my faithful assistant!" Maes chortled with an epiphany, "What was your name?"

"Oh-my name is…Schezcka," she replied. There was a long pause as Maes looked down at the floor for a second, as if something down there would make her name any clearer.

"Huh?" he said perplexed, not believing what he heard.

"Schezcka," she repeated. Maes bit his lip in wonderment.

"What kinda name is that?" Roy asked bewildered by its difficult pronunciation for his six-year-old mouth. Schezcka looked down woefully,

"One my parents liked…I guess," she sighed. "Lady is fine," she conceded.

"Okay Lady, I'm the ringmaster so you have to stand over here so Maes the famous knife thrower guy can do his thing!" Roy instructed, taking her by the hand and leading her to the main door of the office.

"Now this is all pretend, right, guys?" Schezcka wanted to clarify.

"Oh of course, Lady...Maes wouldn't be using real knives," Roy said and went towards the middle of the room. "Ladies and gentleman! May I have your attention please! Welcome to the Mustang Hughes Fury and Havoc Circus…Announcing the very famous knife thrower guy Maes Hughes and his lovely assistant, Lady!"

Havoc and Fury played their part as the audience as they clapped, hooted and hollered gleefully with Fury happily whistling. Havoc was sacrificing his thumb by continuous clapping. Maes jumped out beaming with his hands in the air over his head as though he was just proclaimed champion of the world. Several fountain pens had filled his pockets.

"Wait! He won't be….." Schezcka began but was interrupted.

"Shh! Please…I _must_ have complete _silence!"_ Maes emphasized. Schezcka immediately felt she had no choice but to comply. Yet a burning question began to grate at her. Schezcka raised her right hand over her head to emphasize a point she wanted to make earlier and the moment she did, the sleeve at her wrist was handily greeted and held in place in the door by a well thrown pen. The audience of two and the ringmaster all gasped. She began a squeal of paranoia as she caught sight of a little Maes holding another pen in hand ready to throw. She began a whimper that gradually got louder. Maes threw and the pen nearly struck her in the eye and stuck with a _thung!_ in the hair by the side of her face. She stared at it worrisomely.

"Please! I MUST have complete _silence_!" Maes said once again. And again Schezcka held her breath. This time the next thrown pen pierced her other sleeve and held it to the door as steadfast as a nail. Maes once again intensely concentrated. His hazel eyes narrowed as he carefully focused and was poised to throw another fountain pen when the door flew open. A loud scream of panic sounded from Schezcka's side of the door as the wall neared her face.

A tall beefy man stood sparkling, framed poorly by the doorway. His voice boomed out at the awestruck, gaping six-year-olds. "And just _who_ might you be?" His voice boomed out at the awestruck, gaping six-year-olds.

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IMBSA: _Hmm_, I wonder who _that_ could be. :pause: The sarcasm _drips_. Anyway, hope you liked the chapter! R&R!

**Everto Angelus:** Well, they all have their faults…but I'll have to make a wild pitch to left field and say that I'd rather have Havoc and Fury. They'd be easy to handle and _sooooooooo_ cute! Not as cute as, say, Roy-sama, but, you know.

**RW Grimm:** Yay! I'll mark the days on my calendar! So they come out every month or so? I'm so happy, I've been _dying_ without the manga.

**SoulOmenspride:** Neh! Chibi Havoc::huggles him. he just looks bored and continues to suck his thumb: Believe me, the damage will be _much_ more than the girls managed to wreak.

**The Feral Alchemist:** NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO::notices that she still has plushie: Oh. Ok. :huggles plushie. looks up at TFA: You know, we can't have story if we don't have Maes, so you either give him over or we don't have a story.

**DarkHeartKeyblade:** Glad you enjoy it. Little Roy is, isn't he::huggles chibi Roy:

**Presea Combatir:** They would be the death of all babysitters in the world. I love Little Roy too.

**The Celestial Tiger:** Well, they're boys, and you know how boys are. I seem to always get compliments on my disclaimers. I get almost all of them from mutedfaith(dot)com it's a very good site and you should see it. Oh, and _I_ meant to say _this_ earlier: I don't know if I reviewed, but I am absolutely _in love_ with your fic "In Your Heart of Hearts"! It's very good! I love the Rin/Fluffy-sama and the Miroku/Sango parts (considering that they're my favorite pairings in Inu-Yasha)! Neh! It's awesome!

**Alias Adrianna:** :turns green. runs to back of frame and begins (rather noisily) to throw up. after a few moments, comes back, wiping at mouth: I guess I'm paying for chugging it, eh? Thank you for informing me of that (I believe someone else also did the same) problem. I'm trying to fix it, but it's not working for me yet. It says in the live preview that it's there, but when I look up the story from the search engine, it cuts off.

**alisalana:** :quietly begins choking: Allright….Air…becoming…ISSUE!

**Pichu172B:** :grabs out at Pichu and grabs ankle: NO! MY CHIBIS! Be my guest and draw away! I want to see the pictures!

**Winry the Alchemist:** Oh, I _know_ he's so cute! I wuv him! So much kawaii-ness! I shall not deprive you!

**C.A.M.E.O.1 and Only:** As I told crazyanimefreak15, you can already pretty much guess how Ed acts as a child, since he's barely out of his youth.

**Tsunade-chan:** :rolls away from Tsunade-chan, accidentally yet momentarily flattens Chibi Maes: Well, actually, Roy was a little more organized, making sure everyone had a turn watching them and all, and Riza may be able handle them by herself, but she just can't be bothered.

**The Stone Wolf Alchemist:** Roy just gives that vibe in the show anyway. Maes, I think, is a little too young to know about them.

**kristanite: **Thank you for warning me about that. I'm trying to correct it.

**Maylin-chan:** I love Roy and Maes, but they'd be just too tough to baby sit.

**aNiMe-AzN-aNgEl:** It's a little more difficult this time around, isn't it? Maes and Roy are just at that competitive stage. They're friends through thick and thin, but they spend a lot of time bickering all friendly-like. We're trying to have a little more Royai in this one since it seems the other one did not seem to satisfy you guys in that respect.

**Reese Cup:** They are harder to take care of since girls seem to actually listen to your commands. But boys are a little more willful.

**The Crimson Comet:** Sorry, Crimson. We don't have any plans to include a scene with them in it. But I'll see what I can do.

To **crazyanimefreak15**, **Apparition7**, **Safferon**, **candidus-lupus-full Moon**, **Camille**, **My Dream's Shadow**, **ooOAnimeChildOoo**, **MetalWing Alchemist**, **butterfly-grl4**, and** Black Comet**: Thanks for the reviews!


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